Daniel Alacorn - The King is Always Above the People

“The novel succeeds as a powerful elegy for a vanishing world and captures the dying light of a radical moment.”

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

Just finished The King is Always above the people by Daniel Alacorn. This is a book of ten short stories and it was recently long listed for this years National Book Award.

The stories all take place in Latin countries. They range from a 2 page minimalist story to a story called Abraham Lincoln has been shot, which is sort of written in the same mode as The Underground Railroad, making an historical story into a revisionist history.

There is a story about a gang member who must take revenge for another killing, which he knows will destroy his family. Another story tells of a Father and Son who must return to their hometown to settle his uncle’s Estate.

All the stories are very good. I especially liked The Auroras, a story that will lead the narrator into the surprise of his life.